Rail travel includes everything from heritage steam trains to high-speed bullet trains, from sightseeing or dinner trains to the convenience of speed as a means of modern transport. For the traveller, available information about the range of services can vary greatly.
Some examples of the variations are:
- Luxury rail travel
- Commuting rail travel - as cheap and as efficient as air or other land transport
- Long distance rail travel
- Rail enthusiast - interested to see the railway stations, the locomotives, rolling stock and related parts - the person can be called a railway enthusiast or trainspotter.
Train travel in some countries can be the most suitable means of access to regions with otherwise limited transport options. In Russia, the Trans-Siberian Railway was the only coast-to-coast land transport until a Trans-Siberian Highway opened in the early 21st century; in Canada, the country was unified by rail until the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1961.
In many countries, rail travel is the basic means of transport. Travellers who must travel by rail often encounter timetables and information being available in local languages only, poorly translated information or hard to understand ticketing requirements.
General
- Tourist trains
- Tips for rail travel if you have never been on a train or your last trip is some time in the past, look no further than this article
- Urban rail: Comprehensive list of all Metro, elevated rail, light rail, streetcars etc
- Urban rail adventures - Some of the more interesting urban rail experiences in the world
- Rail air alliances While trains and planes often compete, sometimes airlines and railways cooperate. This article deals with this rather new phenomenon
- Sleeper trains Once the preferred and virtually only way to reach many places, it is still a good way to get around in style and sometimes surprisingly cheaply
- High-speed rail - The most modern form of rail travel, capable of travelling at more than 250km/h. Often faster than flying for medium distances if one takes into account the time it takes to get to the airport and clear security.
Africa
Asia
- High-speed rail in China
- High-speed rail in South Korea
- Rail travel in India
- Rail travel in Japan
- Trans-Siberian Railway
- Seishun 18 Ticket (Japan)
Europe
- Rail travel in Europe
- European rail passes
- Rail travel in Germany
- Rail travel in the United Kingdom
- Rail travel in Ireland
- Rail and bus travel in Sweden